Microsoft E3 2010 Keynote

 Microsoft's keynote was packed with Kinect, previously known as Natal, announcements, but also tossed out some interesting game and hardware announcments. Read on for everything you need to known about Microsoft's initial wave of E3 news.

Game Announcements

• Call of Duty: Black Ops DLC will be available first on Xbox 360 from 2010-2012.
• Fable 3 got an October 26^th ship date, and will have a more modern setting with sea-based battles on ships.
• Gears of War 3 will have a new four-player co-op game mode called “Beast”.
• Exclusive game from Crytek called “Codename Kingdoms” Action game was announced with footage of live-action characters dressed as gladiators.
• Halo Reach will be relased September 14^th. The campaign will have grittier overtones, and players will be able to have dogfights in space.
• Metal Gear Solid Rising “is a sword action-game.” It’s a fast-paced action game with gore and sword fighting, and probably no stealth.

Kinect Announcements

• Project Natal now called Kinect
• VideoKinect will allow people to video conference with each other over Xbox live using Kinect. You can launch trailers, news, videos during the conferencing. No headset, no controllers.
• You can pause and resume video using voice commands. A very similar feature was shown last year as well.
• The camera, which has a 3D camera built in, can track people as they move around the room.
• Live Messenger on PC will also be able to use VideoKinect.
• ESPN will be available to subscribers for free through XBOX Live with over 3,500 live events and on-demand. The events will cover college football, NCAA basketball, NBA basketball, MLB, soccer and be mostly in HD. ESPN has an exclusive deal with Microsoft for events.
• Kintecimals allows you to adopt up to 40 small animals from around the world and interact with them in 30 unique environemnts. Probably the cutest animal sim game I’ve seen in a long time.
• Kinect Sports is a collection of sport titles that can be played single player or multiplayer. Looks like the camera will track actual running movements for track and field.
• Kinect cart-racing game called Joyride from Bigpark
• Kinect  Adventures  places two people on a raft as they float down river, bouncing up and down to avoid the rapids.
• Your Shape Fitness from Ubisoft – Wii fitness but with real motion capturing. Scan the body to calibrate to your body and fitness demands. Stretching and exercises for everybody
• Dance Central from MTV Games and Harmonix is a dance-themed game using Kinect. “Break it Down” mode will allow you to learn each move one step at a time then string them together. Lady Gaga, No Doubt, Beastie Boys, Lips Inc are on the soundtrack with room to grow with download tracks supported.
• Kinect November 4^th World Wide. 15 Launch title. Backwards compatible with old Xbox 360’s. Sonic title not announced but shown as a launch title. More information probably coming later from Sega.
• Exclusive Kinect Star Wars game from LucasArts and Microsoft was shown with  controller-free gameplay.  The player moves on a “rail” and moves his or her hands to attack and defend with a Lightsaber.
• Forza Motorsport will have Kinect Support and let gamers use their hands to steer cars. Head tracking will allow you to see around the car. The mode on display is only passing other cars on the track till time runs out. Allow you to move around a 360 display of the car on the screen. You can touch spots on the screen to get video clips explaining the stats on the car. All of these features are done by tracking body movement. Coming 2011.

Hardware Announcement.

• Slimmer Xbox 360 redesign. 250 gigabyte hard drive and built in wi-fi. “Whisper” Quiet. Price is $299. Shipping to retailers today. Available in stores later this week.

Check back with MyGamer.com for more E3 coverage! 

 By: Justin Wheelock